1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a snow guard system capable of being attached to a roof, the system used to prevent snow from sliding off the roof. Specifically, the present invention relates to an improved mounting block for securing such snow guard systems to a roof seam.
2. Related Art
In areas of the world where there are significant amounts of snowfall, it is typical for large amounts of snow to accumulate on rooftops. When large amounts of snow accumulate on rooftops, a hazardous situation can be created by changing weather conditions such as high winds or prolonged periods of cooling and warming. Under these and other conditions, the snowpack undergoes physical changes that promotes a situation wherein the snowpack will slide off of a sloped roof. These hazardous conditions can cause the accumulated snowpack to slide off the roof and cause damage to surrounding property, landscaping, and in some cases the sliding snow can cause serious bodily injury. The problem of sliding snow is particularly prevalent in metal roofs. Metal roofs provide building structures with many advantages such as strength and durability, but the metal tends to absorb environmental heat which can exacerbate the conditions that lead to snow slides. Also, metal roofs provide relatively little surface friction to a snow pack which can also lead to snow slides.
Snow guard systems have long been used for preventing movement of snow and ice across selected areas of roofs. An example of snow guard systems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 42,972 to Howe, which issued May 31, 1864. Another example of one such snow guard system is discussed in Applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,328, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. Another example is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,513 which is also owned by Applicant and is incorporated herein by reference.
It is known that metal roofs with raised seams present particular problems associated with the attachment of snow guards. A typical metal roof comprises a plurality of metal roofing panels that are laid side by side to cover the width of a roof section. Each panel usually includes substantially perpendicular edges running along both the left and right sides. The roofing panels are located such that their edges abut and form a seal therebetween. The perpendicular edges of the abutting panels are each crimped together and/or bent downwardly over each other to form a joint. The joint serves to seal the abutting panels and thereby prevents fluid communication to the areas underneath the roof panels. While maintaining the primary purpose of preventing leakage to the area below the panels, the joint can be formed into various patterns for decorative purposes, with the cross sections having, for example, dome shapes or polygonal shapes.
The methods of attachment of snow guard systems to metal roof seams have historically presented some problems. One method of attaching the systems is to use a mounting block that is secured to the seam using bolts or screws. However, this method requires puncturing the roofing seam which leads to a destruction of the hermeticity of the metal roof. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,328, a method of securing the mounting block to the metal roof seam is disclosed that utilizes a system of set screws that do not puncture the roofing seam. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,513, a second method of securing the mounting block to the metal roof seam without puncturing the seam is disclosed. The second method utilizes a mounting block having a chamber and cam system to engage the seam. Another method of securing the mounting block to the metal roof seam is disclosed in pending application Ser. No. 09/340,501, entitled Snow Guard System Having Mounting Block and Clamping Pad for Securing to a Roof Seam, Attorney Docket No. 820xe2x80x94015, which was filed on Jun. 30, 1999 and which is owned by the same Applicant as the present invention and is incorporated entirely herein by reference.
Although the methods of securing the mounting block heretofore disclosed are adequate to carry out their intended objectives, there still remains some problems associated with mounting the snow guard assembly to the metal roof. The metal roof seam and the metal snow guard are both exposed to high degrees of moisture which can lead to corrosion caused by the contact of the metal seam and the metal groove in the mounting block. The corrosion is a result of a galvanic reaction between the metal roof, typically copper, and the metal groove in the mounting block, typically aluminum. The corrosion can lead to many deleterious conditions, including unsightly deposits on the roof panels and a weakening of the coupling between the seam and snow guard assembly. The corrosion could eventually lead to a destruction of the hermeticity of the metal roof.
Additionally, as mentioned above, the metal roof seam can be formed in various geometrical shapes. The variety of seam shapes requires the mounting blocks to be manufactured in numerous configurations with grooves that match the geometrical shape of the seams. The number of shapes of the metal roof seam is limited only by the ingenuity and artistic flair of the roof manufacturer and/or installer. The result is that the manufacturer of metal roof snow guard assemblies cannot manufacture only one configuration of the mounting block, rather the manufacturer must in some instances custom build mounting blocks for the particular application. This situation obviously leads to an increase in the cost of manufacture of the snow guard assemblies.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a snow guard system that prevents corrosion of the roof and snow guard assembly. It would also be desirable to have a snow guard system having mounting assemblies that are configurable to various geometrically-shaped metal roof seams. Further, it would be desirable to standardize the manufacture of the major components of the snow guard assembly and thereby reduce the cost of manufacture of the system.
It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the prior art snow guard systems described above.
It is another object of the invention to prevent corrosion of the metal roof, particularly the metal roof seam.
It is yet another object of the invention to standardize the production of one of the major components of the snow guard system.
These and other objects are obtained by providing a mounting block for a snow guard system having a groove formed in the base. An insert is placed into the groove. The insert has an outer periphery that conforms to the shape of the groove and has an inner periphery that conforms to the shape of the metal roof seam. Set screws or similar clamping devices are provided to secure the mounting block to the seam. The insert is manufactured from a material that is non-corrosive, preferably plastic.
Additional objects, advantages, and other novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the detailed description and drawings that follow.